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E-business Briefing from E-consultancy features insight and opinions from top e-business consultants, CEOs and senior management on the issues they are facing as well as selected e-business white papers.
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| Guy Kawasaki on Web 2.0, startups and VC money | ||||
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In this issue: 1. Guy Kawasaki on Web 2.0, startups and VC money 2. The watercooler (stories of note this week...) 3. Paid-Search Roundtable Briefing (free access) 4. JOBS: Internet marketing / new media jobs 5. Top forum post: Different types of PPC Creatives 6. Top forum post: Site sues Google for loss of organic traffic |
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| 1. Guy Kawasaki on Web 2.0, startups and VC money | ||||||
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Guy Kawasaki is a managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm and a columnist for Forbes.com. Previously, he was an Apple Fellow at Apple Computer, Inc. where he was one of the individuals responsible for the success of the Macintosh computer. Guy is the author of eight books including The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries, How to Drive Your Competition Crazy, Selling the Dream, and The Macintosh Way. He has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College. Read Guy's blog at: http://blog.guykawasaki.com/. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Has there has ever been a better time for internet startups? Depends on what you mean as "better". During the dot com days, it was easier to raise money. "Better" to build a better business? Not sure. My take is that an entrepreneur shouldn't care whether the press and so-called experts label the time "good" or "bad". You start a company when you are compelled by inner goals, not because the stock market is doing well and bloggers say it's a good time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- There seems to be a decent amount of seed and early-stage funding going through in the US (although the UK is lagging behind on this front). Why are investors returning to the fray? The simple, honest answer is because they are paid 2.5% fees to invest the money. This doesn't mean you should throw the money away, but you can't sit on it and do nothing either. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Presumably the days of the beermat business plan are long gone? You'd better hope not - and by the way, we use napkins out here. Some of the best companies were pitched this way. PowerPoint is a crutch for most entrepreneurs. Only wimps need PowerPoint. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- So what types of internet companies are attracting interest from VCs? Social networking seems to be the flavor du jour. The problem is that by the time we read about a "trend" in a publication, it's too late. That's why entrepreneurs should create from their hearts and investors should fund from their guts. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Would you agree that the 1998-2000 bubble was exclusively driven by VCs, investment banks and ignorance? No, you have to also include angels, entrepreneurs, and service providers. Basically, everyone was smoking the same illegal drug. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- I've long held the belief that there's no real first-mover advantage in technology. It is the second wave of market entrants that often gets it right, and as such Generation 2.0 should be in good shape, right?
One could probably make this case. Still, it's not the way to impress people. Do you want to get up in the morning and say, "Today, I am going to copy somebody else"? That's a pathetic attitude. Do you admire Steve Jobs or Bill Gates? Or, maybe even more accurately the folks at Xerox Parc? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Can you share some tips for early-stage internet companies? What should entrepreneurs be focusing on? Cash flow. Cash flow is the key to any startup's survival and ultimate success. Don't let any high falutin consultant tell you anything different. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hype aside, what do you make of 'Web 2.0'? Web 2.0 is a method to scam more money to fund more dumb-ass ideas. Customers aren't asking for "Web 2.0 products". They want products that make them more creative, more productive, more secure, more profitable, whatever. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Often the Web 2.0 business model is 'get scale, get acquired'. That's not going to work for the majority, is it? What tips do you have for anybody seeking capital these days? Build a real business - which means that people pay you because you provide real value. All the "we'll get millions of eyeballs and monetize with Adwords" companies aren't going to make it. Maybe they will for a while - then we're in Bubble 2.0. My recommendation this time is to take the money and run. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- One of the more pleasing aspects of Web 2.0 is the punk-rock, can-do, bootstrapping approach, which wasn't available in the first internet boom. Does this mean startups are less reliant on investment capital? Oh, is this what Web 2.0 means? So when FaceBook raises $10 million, it's going the Web 1.0 route? Most companies bootstrap out of necessity - not because they like it. If startups are less reliant on investment capital, it's because they've made themselves leaner and meaner since they realized they can't raise money. Ironically, this probably increases their ability to raise money. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Which websites have been rocking your world lately? I'm hardly objective because we're investors in these companies but www.filmloop.com, www.simplyhired.com, www.kaboodle.com, and www.cfares.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2006 could well be the biggest year for M&A in the internet¹s short history. Any predictions on the types of hot deals we can expect? Who will be buying? I have no idea on the types of hot deals. We will look back at this time, though, as when "the dumb bought the blind". ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview by Chris Lake (chris@e-consultancy.com). Comments, questions, concerns? Take it to the forum. |
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| 2. The watercooler (stories of note this week...) | ||||||
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1 - PartyGaming to pay new CEO £9m per year - Guardian 2 - French demand freedom for online music users - BBC 3 - Kinderstart sues Google after ranking decline - SERoundtable 4 - Amusing 'Web 2.0 or Star Wars character' quiz? - Cerado.com 5 - Guardian launches Huffington-esque 'commentisfree' - Guardian 6 - How to design Flash pages for Google - informit 7 - Sony delays PS3 by six months - GameIndustry.biz 8 - Bus driver sacked for playing GTA while driving - BBC 9 - Gates admits IE failings, flirts with Ajax - NY Times 10 - The trouble with personalisation - WebProNews |
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| 3. Paid-Search Roundtable Briefing (free access) | ||||||
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Notes from E-consultancy's latest Paid Search roundtable, from February 2006, where key trends, issues, tips and tricks were discussed by attendees over a two hour period. Free access for all.
View White Paper / Report » |
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| 5. Top forum post: Different types of PPC Creatives | ||||||
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What type of copy works best in a PPC ad? We know that mirroring search queries is recommended practice, but a call-to-action that focuses on the benefits of the product or service might generate higher click-throughs, according to this post... but what works for you?
View Forum Message » |
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| 6. Top forum post: Site sues Google for loss of organic traffic | ||||||
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Kinderstart.com is busy suing Google because it has fallen out of the top ten (and then some). It believes that Google has no right to have this sort of control (it does). So, is this a ridiculous lawsuit or a bona fide claim? What do you think?
View Forum Message » |
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